Chapter 3 - THE TRUST
I barely slept.
At six the next morning, my attorney arrived at Ravenwood.
I placed my father's letter and the documents from the safe on his desk.
“Tell me everything about the family trust.”
He looked surprised.
“You've seen the documents?”
“Not all of them.”
He opened a secure database.
For several minutes, he said nothing.
Then he looked up.
“There is a secondary trust.”
“Who controls it?”
“Technically, you.”
“Technically?”
“Your father created a condition.”
“What condition?”
He hesitated.
“You cannot access the majority of the trust after marriage unless your spouse passes a financial and legal background review.”
I stared at him.
“My father built that into my inheritance?”
“Yes.”
“And Vivien knows?”
“I don't know.”
I handed him the photograph of the document she had taken.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“My study.”
He studied it again.
“This is not a trust document.”
“What is it?”
“A transfer authorization.”
My stomach tightened.
“Transfer of what?”
“Control of the trust.”
I stood.
“Who is named as beneficiary?”
He looked at me.
“Vivien Rossi.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
The safe.
The wedding.
The secret documents.
She wasn't planning to marry me for my money.
She was planning to marry me to control my father's entire fortune.
Then my attorney said quietly,
“There is one more problem.”
“What?”
“The transfer authorization is dated six months ago.”
I froze.
May you like
Six months.
That was three months before Vivien supposedly met me.
